Ben Foster believes Aston Villa will opt against activating Marcus Rashford’s buy clause when his loan spell comes to an end this summer.
Unai Emery and the key decision-makers at Villa Park have the option of forking out £40 million to make Rashford a permanent member of the squad long-term, with Manchester United ready to sanction his exit following an unsavoury period under Ruben Amorim towards the end of last year.
The Carrington graduate made only six appearances for Amorim before falling out of favour and being exiled from all first-team action at the beginning of December. Then, after a transfer window of being linked here, there and everywhere, he made the move to Villa, where he represented another club for the first-ever time in his senior career.
Rashford hit the ground running in the Midlands and has only continued in his fine form in recent weeks. He now has four goals and six assists to his name in 17 appearances across all competitions, more recently scoring from the spot during last night’s 2-1 defeat away to Manchester City.
Rashford has enjoyed an upturn in form since making Villa switch
He enjoyed a stellar run in the Champions League, too. Villa reached the quarter-finals and came so close to completing an emphatic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in last week’s second leg, during which Rashford put in one of his most impressive performances yet and notched an assist on the night.
Yet, Foster is of the belief a permanent deal for the 62-capped England international is ‘too risky’ for Emery. He said on his podcast (cited by the Express): “I think a lot of people saw him against PSG the other night and were like, ‘Oh my, that’s Rashford.’ That’s what you want from him and there were glimpses, I totally agree.
“During the first leg though, he was miles off it and he didn’t really look happy again.”
“I just think it’s too risky for Aston Villa and I don’t think Unai Emery would sanction it,” the ex-goalkeeper continued. “He’s on so much wages-wise at Man United, I think they are going to try and sell him because they need him for PSR [Profitability and Sustainability Rules].”
“I don’t think Amorim really wants him around the place and he doesn’t suit the system.”
